i) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to water chambers for gases humidification and in particular to water chambers for xe2x80x9cslide-onxe2x80x9d humidifiers and CPAP machines.
ii) Summary of the Prior Art
In the prior art humidification systems are well known which include a heater base and a disposable humidifier chamber which is fitted onto the heater base and within which a supply of water can be heated by the heater base. Air passing through the chamber from an inlet to an outlet is humidified by the evaporation of water from the water supply.
Humidifier chambers of this type are also now used in compact and portable ventilation machines, for example machines intended for the home treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea (CPAP machines). These machines pose a particular difficulty as the air flow is delivered directly to the humidifier chamber from the air blower of the CPAP machine and this can generate an annoying noise level within the humidifier chamber. Furthermore where the CPAP machine is adapted for use with slide-on humidifier chambers, and the connection of the chamber to the machine is accomplished within the single sliding movement, the inlet air port is consequently provided horizontally through a side of the chamber. Locating the inlet port in the side of the chamber significantly increases the likelihood of water spillage from the chamber if the chamber is tilted with water therein. This can be of particular disadvantage where the water may flow out through the inlet port and into the air blower of the CPAP machine.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a water chamber which at least goes some way towards overcoming the above disadvantages or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.
In a first aspect the invention consists in a water chamber adapted for use in conjunction with a heater base and having a horizontally oriented gases inlet in a wall thereof the improvement comprising an elongate flow tube extending into said water chamber from the inner periphery of said gases inlet, an inlet end of said elongate flow tube covering said inlet and an outlet end of said flow tube being spaced from the wall of said chamber, said flow tube in use receiving, at said inlet end, gases supplied to said gases inlet, said gases passing through said flow tube and exiting said flow tube at said outlet end distant from said wall.
To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.